Living Document Notice
Staged 2026-09-27. Living revisions and interconnected notes live in the Stax Digital Garden.

Five-State Checkbox Abstract Syntax Tree Parsers

Standard Markdown task lists support only binary completion states ([ ] and [x]), failing to capture nuanced workflow progression like active execution, delegation, or deferral. The Trice 5-state checkbox specification introduces explicit AST nodes for pending, active, completed, blocked, and cancelled states.

Checkbox AST Invariants

  1. Extended Token Mapping: Parsers recognize custom glyph markers ([/], [-], [?]) alongside standard indicators.
  2. Deterministic State Transitions: Invalid state shifts (e.g., jumping directly from cancelled to completed) trigger immediate parser warnings.
  3. Zero-Loss Serialization: AST round-tripping preserves all inline metadata and sub-task nesting without syntax drift.

Advanced checkbox semantics transform passive task lists into programmable project management engines.


  • Directus Target: trice-blog
  • Garden Source Reference: MOC - Trice Checkbox Engine, MOC - Fleet Operations, LOG-1001 - Append-Only Temporal Logs